Workshop description

Serology is an important research tool for monitoring and controlling tropical infectious diseases, such as malaria, zika and dengue. In particular, serological data comprise crucial epidemiological information on the underlying exposure to a given infection, especially, in low transmission settings in which prevalence of infection is non-informative. However, the analysis of serological data requires to use specific mathematical and statistical models to extract all the epidemiological information contained in the data.  

In this scenario, the workshop will explore three main topics related to the analysis of serological data:

- Estimation of seropositive individuals using two-gaussian mixture models;  

- Estimation of seroconversion rate using the reversible catalytic models under constant transmission intensity;

- Sample size calculation for sero-epidemiological studies aiming to control the precision of the seroconversion rate estimate.

Target audience

This workshop is tailored for all of those interested in public health and epidemiology of tropical infectious diseases. A basic knowledge of the R software/R study is mandatory. A basic knowledge of Statistics is also required.

Computational resources

This workshop will be conducted in the R software (version 4.4.3). However, attendees can also use the R Studio. The packages ‘mixtools’ and ‘RCMsize’ should be installed from CRAN, ahead of the workshop. All the R scripts/data will be provided in a dedicated Github repository shared with all the attendees.

Languages

The workshop will be delivered in Portuguese and English. 

Basic references

Corran P, Coleman P, Riley E, Drakeley C. Serology: a robust indicator of malaria transmission intensity?. Trends Parasitol. 2007;23(12):575-582. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2007.08.023

Sepúlveda N, Paulino CD, Drakeley C. Sample size and power calculations for detecting changes in malaria transmission using antibody seroconversion rate. Malar J. 2015;14:529. doi: 10.1186/s12936-015-1050-3

Sepúlveda N, Stresman G, White MT, Drakeley CJ. Current Mathematical Models for Analyzing Anti-Malarial Antibody Data with an Eye to Malaria Elimination and Eradication. J Immunol Res. 2015;2015:738030. doi: 10.1155/2015/738030. 

REGISTRATION FOR THE WORKSHOP

You can register for the workshop at the moment that you register for the Conference.
If you're already registered for the Conference, but not for the Workshop, please send us an email to info@malarianospalop.org with the subject: 3rd Edition Malária nos PALOP - Workshop.

For any questions related to the workshop, please contact info@malarianospalop.org.

The Instructor